Falling for the Boy
by MiraculousMarauder
Summary: Nao had never even considered the possibility of being gay himself. But despite that, he had fallen for his male best friend. So he has to come to terms with his sexuality, and is there any chance Kou could feel the same way?
1. Chapter 1

I don't know if anyone is still alive in this fandom, but I'm still here and still completely in love with it

* * *

Nao smiled wistfully at the computer screen, the ghost of his character hovering over its body while an armoured mage made short work of the large beast thing that appeared to be a cross between a lion and a man with a scorpion's tail. Nao didn't know what it was supposed to be but it looked scary and had killed his hunter in under thirty seconds.

With a final death cry the Lio-scorpi-man fell to the ground.

"Wow, Kou-kun, you're so amazing!" Nao exclaimed, his eyes sparkling and a smile lighting up his face. It dimmed slightly. "I'm sorry I'm really no good at this. I hate that I keep holding you back. I'd totally understand if you didn't want to play with me anymore."

The silence on the other end was deafening and Nao's head drooped in defeat. He liked playing games with Kou, even if he was no good at it. Usually Kou was so patient and helped him along the way but this time Nao had obviously become too much of a burden.

Nao adjusted the microphone back in front of his mouth. "It's oka-"

"N-no, it's no-nothing like that," Kou's stuttering voice finally came through Nao's headphones and his head came back up from where he had rested it on his crossed arms. "I r-really... um... really like playing with you. You're really not a bother to me." Some of the sparkle was back in Nao's eyes. "I mean... this manticore was really high level." _Ah, manticore. That must have been what the big boss thing was._ "So maybe we could... um... try somewhere else? Only if you'd like!"

Nao was almost like a puppy with his tail wagging enthusiastically behind him.

"Yay! That would be great! You're the best, Kou-kun!"

"Um... sure..."

* * *

Nao spotted a familiar head of brown hair bent low, headphones blocking out the sound of the busy cafeteria. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and he turned to the group he had walked in with.

"I've just spotted a friend of mine so I'm going to go eat with them, okay?"

Murmurs of acknowledgement followed but he barely heard them as he hurried over to where Kou was busy playing a game. Nao bent over his shoulder to watch and as his chin came to hover just over Kou's shoulder, Kou let out a shriek and nearly toppled onto the floor. Laughing apologetically, Nao held his arm to steady him then went around the table to sit opposite.

"Sorry, Kou-kun. I just wanted to see what you were playing. I didn't mean to scare you."

Kou's face was flushed a bright pink and his speech became more stuttered than usual.

"I-I-I... um... then y-you... I-it w-w-was... b-but..."

Nao smiled warmly, his chin resting in both hands as he waited for Kou to finish his sentence. Kou took a deep breath, the steadying action doing nothing to reduce his blush.

 _So cute,_ Nao thought.

"I-I d-didn't see you there. What are you d-doing here?"

Nao picked up his chopsticks, crossing his legs on the chair and tucking into his food. "It's lunchtime. You want some?" he pushed his bentou towards Kou, the brunette carefully setting his headphones aside and tentatively reaching a hand towards the food. He drew back.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Nao only laughed, plucking a piece of fried pork and offering the morsel. "Say 'ah'."

Blushing a deeper red than Nao had ever seen, Kou opened his mouth. "Aah."

* * *

"Who's that girl sitting with your little brother, Nifuji-kun?" Hanako dropped into a seat beside Narumi, both hands wrapped around the cardboard cup filled with hot chocolate. Tarou sat next to her, draping one arm along the back of her chair and looking over to where Nao sat.

"What are you talking about? That's his gaming otaku friend from University, isn't it? He hangs out here sometimes and he's always playing on a handheld. I think he plays more than Nifuji does."

"Why do you keep saying 'he'? That's a girl. Is she his girlfriend?" Hanako directed the last to Hirotaka who studied the twosome briefly before turning his attention back.

"That's Kou-kun." He explained, unhelpfully.

"Exactly. Are you stupid as well as ugly? Kou- _kun_."

"Actually," Narumi cut in before Hanako could start in on her inevitable tirade. "I think Kou _is_ a girl."

All four of them squinted over to where the pair sat, games console discarded as they chatted happily, leaning in towards each other. Nao's smile was open-mouthed and shining teeth, his eyes closed behind the force of it. Kou's was smaller, shyer, just a quirk of lips and pink tipped ears but it was clear the brunette's enjoyment in the conversation was as much as Nao's.

"Nope," Tarou disagreed, looking away again and Hirotaka just shrugged.

"No, she's definitely a girl!" Narumi protested. "And pretty cute too, I think."

Hanako's smile was broad. "Agreed. I know a girl dressed like a boy when I see one and I'd bet a night's worth of drinks on it." She raised a challenging eyebrow to her boyfriend who's eye twitched in response. They both knew he wouldn't turn down a bet.

"Done. If _Kou-kun_ ," he spoke the name pointedly, "is a boy, you pay for my drinks for the night and if he is a girl, I'll pay for yours."

"You're going to regret it when you find out that _she_ is definitely a girl."

The two shook on their wager.

They quickly dropped their hands, adopting casual poses when their loud exchange caught the attention of the person in question, who sent a curious look in their direction.

Narumi smiled, her fingers fluttering in an awkward wave which Kou returned equally awkwardly. Nao turned his own baffled gaze their way and they all stumbled to their feet with varying levels of urgency.

"Well, time to go back to the office, I think."

"Yes, yes, lots of work to be done."

"Let's go."

Hirotaka followed slowly behind the other three, eyeing Nao and Kou appraisingly as he went, the lid on his coffee cup pressed to his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

So when I planned this fic, Kou hadn't yet been outed as a girl to Nao yet. So this is obviously going to be canon divergent. I hope you like it anyway. I will continue to call Kou by male pronouns for the time being.

* * *

Hirotaka looked at Nao from the side of his eye as the groan of disappointment made its way past his headphones. The minor diversion didn't stop the rapid movement of his fingers on the keyboard as he quickly dealt with the hoard of ogres attacking him. Less than a minute later he reached a safe zone and removed his headphones, making a mental note to write a scathing review on Amazon about the quality and find a new pair better at cancelling noise.

He swivelled in his chair and eyed Nao sprawled face first on his bed. Rubbing his temple, he crossed the room and sat next to Nao's prone form.

Nao pressed the heels of his hands into his eyelids until the darkness turned red, then he huffed out a sigh, his hands flopping either side of him onto the bed.

"Is it that important?"

Nao opened his eyes to take in Hirotaka's simultaneously puzzled yet disinterested face. Nao knew it well.

"Important? I don't really... I mean..."

The sound of the doorbell ringing cut their conversation short and Hirotaka dragged himself to his feet, resigning himself to a night of gaming well and truly lost.

Through the door stumbled Narumi, Hanako and Tarou, cans of beer and extra Wii remotes in hand. Narumi came bounding in with her usual ceaseless energy, broad grin on her face, but stopped short on seeing Naoya.

"Evening, Nao-chan! We just came over for a night of... drinking," she explained, slipping the pink controller behind her back with all the subtlety she could muster.

Tarou strode purposefully into the room and headed directly to the fridge to stash the beers. Hanako approached the younger Nifuji.

"Hello, Nifuji-kun. What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here? Nifu... um... Hirotaka-kun didn't mention you would be here."

Hirotaka squinted over towards them, his glasses in the process of being cleaned on the edge of his t-shirt. "I didn't know you were all coming over tonight."

"We talked about it earlier, Nifuji. You said it was fine. Were you even listening?"

Hirotaka thought back over his day, pinpointing several incidents of Kabukara-san talking near him while he had been otherwise engaged. Shrugging, he disappeared into his room without a word.

"Don't worry about him," Narumi called, already tucked up on the sofa, a can in one hand and controller in the other, her embarrassment in front of Naoya already forgotten. "He'll be back out in a minute."

Nao watched it all with a bemused smile.

"I came round to borrow some games from Hirotaka. I'm going round to a friend's house tomorrow but they don't have anything multi-player so nii-chan promised to help me."

"You're putting a lot of thought into this, Nao-chan. You must care about your friend a lot," Hanako said, pressing a finger to the bridge of her glasses, leaning closer, her lip pulling up into a playful smirk.

Nao nodded enthusiastically. "Kou-kun is a really good friend. He gets nervous easily and doesn't seem to get on with people much." He didn't notice the subtle exchange between Hanako and Tarou as he passed behind her on his way to the living area. "I just want to be able to play games with him. It's fun when it's with Kou-kun!"

Hirotaka emerged from his bedroom, a stack of games in his hands. Nao accepted them gratefully.

"Thank you, nii-chan! I'll take really good care of them." Turning to the others he bowed his head. "Good night, everyone. Enjoy your evening!" He slipped out the door, waving a hearty goodbye.

After he had gone, Hanako turned to face a smug Tarou. She clenched her jaw and jabbed him in the chest with one pointed finger.

"Don't think you're keeping hold of that money. Naoya-kun might think that Kou is a boy but I know she's a girl, and I'll prove it!"

Tarou laughed mockingly. "How exactly do you plan to do that, hag?"

She planted her fists on her hips. "I... don't know yet. But I will, mark my words!" The last part was shouted over Tarou's raucous laughter.

"Alright," he conceded. "Because I think it's funny and I like taking your money, I'll give you another chance. Double or nothing."

Scowling, Hanako held out her hand, clasping Tarou's with a firmer grip than was strictly necessary. "You're on."

* * *

They'd played Tekken, Smash Brothers, and finished off with a round of Mario Kart, which Nao had discovered he was surprisingly good at. Kou had won all the games, of course.

"All right, no more, you win!" Nao tossed the controller onto the floor in front of him and Kou followed suit, setting his controller gently next to Nao's. "I promise, one day I'll definitely beat you at something." Nao said and Kou smiled indulgently.

"You played really well, Nao-kun." Kou said, straightening the cuffs of his sleeves and drawing his knees up, hands wrapping round his legs.

He gasped as something soft but weighty hit him smack in the face. There was a moment of stunned silence where neither of them dared to even breathe. Slowly, Kou lowered the pillow and turned his head to Nao, his expression shocked. Nao's fingers covered his mouth, not sure if he'd overstepped and trying not to burst out laughing at Kou's wide eyes and slack jaw.

"Did you just..?"

Nao nodded, fingers pressing harder to his lips and the tip of his tongue between his teeth as giggles bubbled up his throat.

Kou looked at the offending weapon, clutched in nerveless fingers, and looked back to Nao's slowly reddening face. And with reflexes born from many, many, _many_ hours logged on various consoles, Kou sent the pillow flying with arrow precision towards its target.

Although quick, gamers were not inherently strong, and the pillow landed with a soft _whump_ on Nao's shoulder and fell to the floor. Nao laughed loudly, grabbing the pillow and tossing another to Kou, jumping to his feet and adopting a fighting pose, his centre of gravity low, both hands holding his weapon.

Before long they were in an all out pillow war, all of Kou's polite inhibitions quickly falling by the wayside as he dealt blow after deadly blow, Nao not giving any ground in return. After a feverish and high-spirited five minutes, they both ended up doubled over, gasping for breath from exertion and laughter.

"Truce!" Nao wheezed, sitting on the edge of Kou's bed, clutching his sides and Kou followed suit, lying back and gasping for air, hugging the pillow to his chest.

Nao couldn't contain his giggles, his pillow falling from his loosened grip as he flopped sideways onto the bed next to Kou, one hand tucked up under his cheek. Kou turned his head to face the blonde boy, his smile soft and his breath short. He inhaled sharply when he realised just how closely it brought their faces together. They both stilled, Nao's grin slipping as they watched each other.

Slowly, tentatively, Nao raised his hand, brushing the stray hairs away from Kou's face and stroking his thumb across his cheek and marvelling at the golden flecks in Kou's otherwise startling green eyes. Nao glanced down to Kou's lips and Kou licked them in response. As if in a dream, Nao closed the gap between them, pressing his lips against Kou's in a sweet, brief kiss. It lasted only seconds, and when he pulled back and opened his eyes, Kou's were wide and staring, his face flushing a deep red. As brief as the kiss was, it took Nao less time to realise what he had done. He had kissed his friend. His _best_ friend. His _male_ best friend. And Kou probably wasn't interested in men. Kou probably wasn't interested in _him_. Nao had never even considered the possibility of being gay himself. It had just never even occurred to him to think about it. And now he had kissed his male best friend and there was nothing he could do to change that. He sat up, glancing around, needing to look at anything that wasn't the disgust and probably even hatred that was undoubtedly written all over Kou's face.

"Umm..." his eyes flicked back to where Kou was slowly sitting up as well, looking dazed. The panic set in. "Sorry, I... I didn't, I mean... sorry." And without another word, he grabbed his bag and fled Kou's room.

* * *

Oops, self-insert with a pan-demi Nao. Ah well, I'll do what I like. They kissed! Yay! Nao ran away. Boo! One chapter to go.


	3. Chapter 3

This is it, the end. Enjoy the final chapter.

* * *

"I mean, it's obvious."

"I completely agree."

"There really is no other way it could be."

"It's Kou!"

"It's Nao!" They spoke together, the names overlapping.

Lightening practically crackled in the air between them as they glared daggers at each other.

Hanako was the first to break the tension. "How could you possibly think that Nao would be top?! It would obviously be Kou."

"What are you talking about?" Narumi replied, her hands slamming down on the table. "Nao might seem cute at first but he has that gap moe where the switch would flip and he would be totally commanding!"

"Not a-"

Kabakura placed his cup on the table with a resounding click, dragging out a chair and sitting next to Narumi, effectively cutting his girlfriend off midsentence. The women turned their death glares onto the interloper.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, innocent to the den of vipers he had unwittingly walked into.

Koyanagi smirked resting her chin on the heel of her hand. "Who would be top and who would be bottom, naturally."

Kabakura took a sip of his drink, the muscle in his cheek twitching only slightly. This was a conversation he had been privy too numerous times. He gritted his teeth. Hanako would not best him. "Between who?"

Narumi smiled through the tension. "Nao-chan and Kou-kun. Personally I think Nao would top-"

"He is a total bottom!" Hanako declared again, her eyes flashing. "He's just so eager to please!"

"Which is why he would make the perfect seme," Narumi disagreed, her fist connecting with the palm of her hand. "He would do everything to make his uke happy, take care of all his ne-"

Tarou dragged his hand down his face, waving the other in the air between the two women. Then it occurred to him.

"Wait. Does this mean you've realised Kou is a man?" He bared his teeth in a feral grin. "You owe me another thousand yen, hag. Double or nothing we said and you lose."

Hanako adjusted the glasses on her face, smiling devilishly.

"Of course Kou is a girl. But Nao-chan still thinks she's a boy. What harm is there in having a little fantasy in life?"

He groaned, slumping back in his chair. "You know, most people fantasize about their own lives, not about other people."

* * *

The cafeteria was bustling with activity, university students taking the short break for food as an opportunity to let off steam, some more raucously than others. The general buzz of shouting and laughing, the sound of music playing somewhere, none of it registered to Nao. In amongst the hubbub, headphones on and tray of food in hand was Kou, shyly dodging wildly gesticulating hands as he searched for a quiet table. As if Nao had called Kou's name, he looked up, a bright red flush colouring his face as his eyes met Nao's. Time stood still.

"Nao!" A hand came down onto his shoulder, startling the blonde out of his reverie. That split second of distraction had Kou lost to the crowd. "Nao, buddy, you awake?"

Nao blinked and shook his head. Knowing it was pointless trying to find Kou again, he turned to see who had spoken. His classmate, Itsuki, looked at him, concerned. Nao grinned his carefree grin. "Sorry, man. Just lost in though. What did you say?"

Itsuki flicked his eyes over to where Nao had been transfixed and looked back, concern furrowing his brow.

"Hey, did you and Sagaraki have an argument or something?"

"An argument? Umm... not exactly. I just-" He stopped short of saying exactly what it was he had done. He realised that he was already stood by the table of his friends. Pulling his chair out, he sat, using his food as a desperately needed distraction. Despite having no interest, he took a bite of his apple.

"Well, whatever. Just kiss and make up already."

And nearly choked on the fruit.

"K-kiss?"

* * *

 _Was this some kind of shoujo manga_? Nao thought to himself, well aware he had been the perpetrator of this scenario in the first place. He had wanted to talk to Kou alone and this had seemed the best way. Still, a letter in his locker was so incredibly cliché and Nao still cringed ever time he thought about it.

And honestly, the roof? He felt like he has making a school-girl confession.

Which really wasn't far off the mark.

It had only been four days since what Nao was mentally calling 'the incident' and he hadn't spoken to Kou since then. Four days, nineteen hours and thirty six minutes. Make that thirty seven minutes. Not that Nao was counting at all. But that was four days, nineteen hours and thirty seven and a half minutes without playing online games with Kou or having lunch with him. Four days, nineteen hours and thirty eight minutes now without seeing him smile.

He checked his watch again. It was already two minutes past four. Kou was late. Maybe he wasn't coming. Nao couldn't blame him, he'd practically attacked the guy, after all. But then, what if he hadn't read the letter at all? What if Nao had put it in the wrong locker? What if he'd forgotten to leave the note at all? Three minutes past four. It wasn't that late. Nao would wait. All night if he had to. Although that was ridiculous because the university had to be locked up at some point and he couldn't just stay there. But then, how long should he wait? What if the moment he decided to leave was the exact moment Kou showed up and they would just miss each other and then-

His internal panicked ramblings were cut off with the high pitched squeal of the un-oiled hinges of the heavy roof door. He cast slightly wild eyes across, finding, to both his gratification and complete terror that Kou had arrived, looking pink and out of breath and completely adorable and Nao's brain shut down.

It had only been four days, nineteen hours and forty minutes. Had Kou always been this... beautiful?

"I... I-I got your umm... I got the letter..." Kou spoke haltingly, eyes not quite meeting Nao's.

Nao took a hesitant step towards Kou.

"I'm glad you came. I was really hoping that you would come so thank you... for coming here."

An awkward silence followed.

Screwing up his courage, Nao took another step forward.

"I have something that I need to tell you."

Kou's breath hitched. "Me too," he all but whispered and the sound was nearly snatched away on the wind.

Taking a breath, they both screwed their eyes shut waiting for the axe to fall and for the repercussions that awaited after.

"I'm a girl."

"I like you."

Their words overlapped and in the ensuing silence their eyes blinked open and they stared at each other's baffled faces.

"What did you say?" They spoke over each other again, this time, their words cohesive.

"I said, I like you!"

"I said, I'm a girl!"

This wasn't working. Nao's courage started to fail.

Kou took a tentative step forward and placed trembling fingers against Naoya's lips. Nao's adam's apple bobbed in his throat and he felt the warmth of Kou's touch spread from his lips, across his face and through his entire body.

"I..." Kou paused, swallowed convulsively and started again. "I've been trying to tell you for a while, but it's been awkward, I've never really known how to bring it up, because you always thought... and then _I_ thought if I told you then maybe you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore and I didn't want that because you're my only real life friend and I really like playing games with you and just hanging out or whatever and you don't treat me like I'm weird and you're so friendly and nice and everything but-"

Nao wrapped his hands in a loose circle around Kou's wrists, bringing his hand away from where it still covered his mouth.

"I like you."

Kou was taken aback.

"You... like me?"

Nao nodded, a radiant smile bursting forth from his lips. Now that the burden of his confession had lifted he felt light. When before he was scared, now he just felt happy. Of course, Kou might still reject him, but at least he had managed to get his feelings across. And Kou was still there.

"I like you, I really do. A lot. I know you probably find it weird and maybe you hate me and I understand if you don't want to be my friend now but I hope you do." He clasped Kou's hands more securely between his own. "But I was really hoping that you might consider being my... boyfriend?"

"B-boyfriend?"

Nao bit his lip. "Would you at least think about it? I wasn't sure myself when I first realised, I mean, I didn't really think whether two guys could be possible or not so I did some research-"

"You did... what kind of research?"

A tide of colour washed over Nao's face and he chuckled self-consciously.

"I umm... I went to Animate and bought some manga with gay couples."

"Manga?"

"It was so embarrassing. The worst thing is my brother's girlfriend was there. I had to hide the books I was looking at. Luckily she disappeared pretty quickly though. It was kinda strange actually."

Nao stopped his babbling when he realised Kou was staring.

"Sorry, I'm still a bit nervous, I guess."

Kou also looked nervous.

"I was trying to tell you something earlier and I'm worried that I might be a bit late now but I think I really need to let you know." Kou closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm a girl."

After a moment of silence, Kou opened her eyes again, but all Nao could do was stare, no small amount confused and perplexed.

"You're a..?"

"A girl."

"And you've always been..."

Kou looked down at his - _her_ \- hands. They were still tucked into Nao's and she drew them out. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear she crossed one arm defensively over her stomach.

"Yes. Are... are you disappointed?"

"Disa-" he breathed out in wonderment. "You think I'd be disappointed? I mean, okay, I did spend a lot of time questioning my sexuality and all, plus all that extra research on how two boys..." he tailed off. "But, disappointed? I don't think I could ever feel that way about you. Honestly, I think boy or girl, it doesn't really matter to me. You're incredible. You're so unbelievably smart and funny and generous and kind. You're always patient with me and I love playing games with you and you're so beautiful. How could I not be in lo... like... with... you," he finished lamely.

Kou smiled bashfully, tugging the sleeves of her top down over her hands.

"I can't believe you did all that," she said.

Nao scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. "Well I lo- I um... I li- Oh, umm, I mean... I wanted to be prepared in case..."

The colour on Kou's face was heightening again. "In case..?"

"I just... I don't have any gay friends and I wasn't sure if I was gay or if it was just you I lo... well, I wasn't sure so..."

"Is it o-okay if... can I k-k-kiss you..?" Kou asked bashfully, hesitant despite Nao's confession. Nao's smile was practically jubilant.

"Does this mean you like me too?"

Kou mumbled incoherently, her sleeves covering her face in her embarrassment.

"What was that?" Nao took Kou's hands back into his, bringing his face closer to hers. "I didn't quite catch it."

Kou's eyes widened and she licked her lips. "I said... I said, I love you."

Quick as a flash Nao ducked his head to press his lips to hers, his heart practically dancing in his chest. Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine that today would turn out this way. At best, he had hoped that they could remain friends.

Reluctantly he broke off the kiss, pressing his forehead to hers, their fingers intertwined.

"I love you, too."

Nao leant down and Kou rose up to meet him halfway, their lips pressing together. This time Kou drew back first, nibbling on her lower lip.

"Seriously though, manga?"

* * *

I just love these two and I hope you liked my take on their relationship and Kou's gender reveal. Thank you so much for reading and all your reviews and kudos mean so much.

* * *

CUT SCENE - in animate

Narumi hummed happily to herself as she browsed the covers, plucking each new release from the shelf as she encountered them, thoroughly reading the synopsis before making a decision. The decision was always to put it in her basket.

Spying the latest edition of one of her favourite series, Narumi squealed in excitement, rushing forward and reaching, blind to everything around her.

Another person bumping shoulders with her brought her to her senses, her innate politeness coming to the fore.

She bowed apologetically.

"Ah, excuse me, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"Narumi?"

Her head snapped back up at the familiar voice, her response visceral as a blush flooded her face and she turned her body to hide the contents of her basket as well as the genre of books on the shelf behind her.

"Nao-chan! What are you... I mean, are you... are you lost or..?" Narumi glanced around, praying the Nao hadn't noticed the myriad embracing men adorning the covers of the books surrounding them.

"Oh, um... no, I'm not lost... I just..." he laughed awkwardly and Narumi joined in, the edge of panic making the sound almost hysterical.

"Well," she regretfully eyed the book she had just been reaching for as she backed away from Naoya. "I should be... oh, look, is that the time already? I..." she gestured vaguely, turned tail and ran.

After escaping - and purchasing the BL she had already collected before she bumped into Nao - Narumi breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know how he had managed to wander into the boys love department - sometimes he seemed as scatterbrained as she was herself - but Narumi was confident she had managed to bluff her way out of that awkward situation. Hopefully he'd forget he ever saw her there.


	4. Epilogue

Narumi, Hirotaka, Hanako and Tarou sat at their usual table in Starbocks. They were on their lunch break from the office but the place was surprisingly not too busy. Narumi was desperately trying to get Hirotaka to taste some of her sickly sweet confection of a drink that had more cream piled on top of it than could be deemed reasonable. He deftly dodged the proffered straw.

"What's so great about black coffee?" she moaned, rolling her eyes at his lack of willing. She picked up his cup from where he had set it down, taking a delicate sip and pulling a less than delicate face. "Bleugh!" she said, sticking her tongue out as her senses were assaulted by the bitter flavour. "How can you drink that with no cream or sugar at all?" She set the cup down in disgust. Hirotaka picked it back up, subtly turning it so his lips pressed against the slight impression hers had left behind.

"I don't like sweet things."

The bell above the door rang but the group paid it little mind as Tarou and Hanako had once again started arguing.

"No! You promised. You said this weekend we could spend a whole day together. You're not backing out now."

Kabakura rubbed his temples. "I'm not backing out, we're still spending the day together."

"Watching your anime? Again? I want to go on a date!"

"You said you liked that anime. Besides-"

"Shh, guys, look!" Narumi cut into the argument, perhaps unwisely, and she felt a moment of apprehension as matching glares turned in her direction. Then they saw what she had been indicating to them. Nao and Kou were only a couple of tables away, sitting closer together than they ever had before, faces almost touching as they both looked intently at the handheld console between them. As the foursome watched, Nao whispered something into Kou's ear and the girl blushed furiously. Narumi and Hanako cooed at the sight.

Then Hanako turned to Tarou, her expression haughty and triumphant.

"Pay up then, Baka-kura. 2000¥ wasn't it?" she said, smirking in self-satisfaction.

Tarou slammed his hand on the table. "Wait!... that's... I mean, maybe they're just friends who are really close or-or-or maybe... yeah, maybe they're gay. It doesn't mean she's a... _he's_ a girl. You read enough of _that_ , so obviously they're..." he trailed off, gesturing vaguely. Their loud exchange had obviously caught Nao's attention and the blonde boy bounded up, dragging a less enthusiastic Kou behind him.

Nao's smile was wide, his obvious happiness infectious and Narumi was glad to see how much love was shining in his eyes. Kou hid slightly behind him, her hand tucked into his, her eyes owlish behind her glasses. All four turned fully in their seats to face the couple.

"Narumi-chan! Onii-chan! I'm so happy to see you! This..." he stepped to the side, tugging gently on Kou's hand to bring her forward and more squarely into the spotlight. "Is Kou-kun." They all leaned imperceptibly closer, waiting to see how she would be introduced. They held a collective breath. "My girlfriend."

Hanako crowed in delight, her glasses flashing as she adjusted them on her face. Her laughter was joyful, if not a little maniacal and Tarou folded his arms on the table, his head dropping with a thump. Narumi, for her part, was just excited, jumping up and hugging an obviously uncomfortable Kou. Hirotaka was stoic as ever.

Naoya stared around the group, bemused by the reactions to his news. "Umm... is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just great," came Tarou's muffled voice, his hand reaching out to slap some notes into Hanako's outstretched hand.

"Fantastic!" she agreed, with a great deal more sincerity.

"I'm never going to hear the end of this," he mumbled quietly.

Nao sat down next to his brother, a peaceful oasis slightly apart from the chaos of their friends. Looking on from the outside, both of them sighed in contentment.

"So... what do you think, Nii-chan? Of Kou, I mean."

Hirotaka took a sip of his coffee, observing a little longer.

"She seems okay. She's a high level gamer and doesn't talk unnecessarily. I don't mind her."

Nao leaned against his brother, shoulder to shoulder, his eyes crinkling happily. "I'm glad you like her." He sat up suddenly, his eyes sparkling and Hirotaka side-eyed him. "Oh! I've just realised, now we both have girlfriends, we could double date! That would be loads of fun, don't you think?"

Hirotaka watched as Narumi fussed over Kou, her hands moving wildly as she talked a mile a minute. The harsh artificial light cast a soft glow over her pink hair and her wide smile caused a similar tugging at the corner of his own lips. For a full ninety seconds he forgot that Nao had even asked him a question.

"Onii-chan?"

He startled. "Oh, yeah. A date... Sounds... nice."

With a small smile as he watched Narumi and Kou, he took another sip of his long cold coffee.

* * *

I was finished, I really was, but then rightly pointed out that it needed an epilogue. I happened to agree wholeheartedly so whether you wanted it or not (and honestly, if you didn't, you just wouldn't bother reading) here it is. I got this done super fast because I was inspired, but because of that it might be a little clumsy. I have given it a couple of read throughs. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little addition.


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